City’s poor struggle to break free, CPS gains nationwide praise, city and county head to court

With Cincinnati’s child poverty and economic mobility
rates among the worst in the country, it’s clear the city’s poor can get
stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty. Although the impoverished trend
afflicts more than half of the city’s children, every level of
government has in some way cut services to the poor. The end result:
Many Cincinnati neighborhoods show little signs of progress as poor health and economic
indicators pile up. Read CityBeat’s in-depth story here.

Following the adoption of community learning centers,
Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) continue receiving praise for establishing a workable model for educating low-income
populations. Locally, independent data shows the model has pushed CPS
further than the traditional approach to education, even though the
school district continues struggling with impoverished demographics. A few
hundred miles away, newly elected New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
says he will implement the Cincinnati model in the biggest city in the nation.

Hamilton County and Cincinnati are heading to court to
decide who can set policy for Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD)
projects. The conflict came to a head after Hamilton County
commissioners deliberately halted federally mandated MSD projects to
protest the city’s job training rules for contractors. The
Republican-controlled county argues the rules favor unions, burden
businesses and breach state law, but the city says the rules are
perfectly legal and provide work opportunities for city workers.

Cincinnati-based crowdfunding startup SoMoLend settled
with Ohio over allegations that it sold unregistered securities and its
founder misled investors. Candace Klein, the founder, resigned as CEO of
the company in August.